Last week I said I would have a major announcement for you. Actually, I have two.

Shatter the Silence, the sequel to my memoir, Sister of Silence, finally has a great book cover. I know you’ve been waiting very patiently to read the continuation of my life story, and I can’t thank you enough. I truly appreciate your loyalty! (And I hope you enjoy what I fully expect to be an 80K-word book.)

After a great deal of work, I believe we’ve nailed it. And it only took traveling 1,800 miles to Florida, where I met another author, who introduced me to her cover designer. The pieces quickly fell into place and now, voilá, the book you all have been awaiting (for far too long) has a cover. It’s not what I initially expected but I think Christina at #CBB Productions did a great job. It’s perfect. I love it! And hope you do, too.

That isn’t all. As of today you can pre-order Shatter the Silence through Smashwords, which is the distributor I’ve chosen. Smashwords is pretty cool, because it sends my books out into the world, to places like Apple iTunes, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and elsewhere.

And in four more days—on Saturday, March 19—I’ll share the cover for Shatter the Silence right here. Plus, there’s a bonus; if you order now, it’s only $2.99. But right after its May 7 release, the price goes up to $3.99.

That still isn’t all.

Back in December, I promised to have my compiled newspaper columns, Vintage Berry Wine, to you in book form by year’s end. That didn’t happen. In large part, again, because we couldn’t come up with the perfect book cover. In part because those old columns came in at more than 90K words, which was much more than I ever anticipated. Now, though, the cover is almost completed, and will—as my columns did—feature my ornery brood. Here’s the best part—Vintage Berry Wine will be released April 2, one month before Shatter. I don’t have the preorder link yet but I will Saturday, and will share that and the pricing details with you when I reveal the Shatter cover here.

* * * *

What a hot, hectic weekend it was! At least it was here in southeastern Florida, where thousands of college students have flocked to these sandy beaches, making my Starbucks run a little more difficult. Still, I get why they come here. And if this wonderful warm weather keeps up, I may have trouble dragging myself back to West Virginia.

I’ve been spending time at the beach myself, just walking in the sand. Hard work, that is. And Sunday, I found an Olympic-sized pool right around the corner, so I swam laps for an hour. Then, today, I enrolled in a super fun dance class with a great instructor. At this rate, my legs will be toned and slimmer in no time. Goodness, at this rate, there won’t be much left of me to return home!

See you Saturday!

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My last Florida book event, complete with a discussion about my latest book and why innocent people end up in prison, a Q&A, and a reading, was Saturday, March 12, at Barnes and Noble in Jensen Beach. More dates will follow, which you can find on my Facebook page.

My fifth book, Guilt by Matrimony, about the murder of Aspen socialite, Nancy Pfister, was released November 17. My memoir, Sister of Silence, is about surviving domestic violence and how journalism helped free me; Cheatin’ Ain’t Easy, now in ebook format, is about the life of Preston County native, Eloise Morgan Milne; The Savage Murder of Skylar Neese (a New York Times bestseller, with coauthor Geoff Fuller) and Pretty Little Killers (also with Fuller), released July 8, 2014, and featured in the August 18 issue of People Magazine.

You can find these books either online or in print at a bookstore near you, at BenBella Books, Nellie Bly Books, Amazon, on iTunes and Barnes and Noble.

For an in-depth look at the damaging effects of the silence that surrounds abuse, please watch my live TEDx talk, given April 13, 2013, at Connecticut College.

Have a great day and remember, it’s whatever you want to make it!

~Daleen

Editor’s Note: Daleen Berry is a New York Times best-selling author and a recipient of the Pearl Buck Award in Writing for Social Change. She has won several other awards, for investigative journalism and her weekly newspaper columns, and her memoir, Sister of Silence, placed first in the West Virginia Writers’ Competition. Ms. Berry speaks about overcoming abuse through awareness, empowerment and goal attainment at conferences around the country. To read an excerpt of her memoir, please go to the Sister of Silence site. Check out the five-star review from ForeWord Reviews. Or find out why Kirkus Reviews called Ms. Berry “an engaging writer, her style fluid and easy to read, with welcome touches of humor and sustained tension throughout.”

Editor’s Note: Daleen Berry is a New York Times best-selling author and a recipient of the Pearl Buck Award in Writing for Social Change. She has won several other awards, for investigative journalism and her weekly newspaper columns, and her memoir, Sister of Silence, placed first in the West Virginia Writers’ Competition. Ms. Berry speaks about overcoming abuse through awareness, empowerment and goal attainment at conferences around the country. To read an excerpt of her memoir, please go to the Sister of Silence site. Check out the five-star review from ForeWord Reviews. Or find out why Kirkus Reviews called Ms. Berry “an engaging writer, her style fluid and easy to read, with welcome touches of humor and sustained tension throughout.”